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San Francisco Public Defender - Clean Slate Program
Public Defender's Office 555 Seventh St. near Bryant. Front Desk: 415-553-1671 Clean Slate: 415-553-9337 SF Public Defender website: Clean Slate Application can be found at http://sfpublicdefender.org/ or apply online at https://clearmyrecord.codeforamerica.org/ The San Francisco Public Defender's Office can help you with your criminal records so that your past mistakes won't affect your chances for a job, a professional license or credit now that you've finished paying for your offense. If you've ever been arrested, convicted of a crime or been found delinquent in juvenile court, you could be eligible to have your criminal record "cleaned" by a simple process. Some records, such as marijuana possession and juvenile offenses, can be totally destroyed. Other records can be changed from felony to misdemeanor status. San Francisco residents who have completed a term in prison may be eligible for a Certificate of Rehabilitation. You can come to one of our Walk-In Clean Slate Clinics and speak to the Clean Slate attorney about your criminal record, or through email at cleanslate@sfgov.org Walk In Hours Walk-In Clean Slate Clinic times and locations: Community Justice Center, 555 Polk St. 2nd Floor, S.F., 2nd Wednesday of the month, 2pm-4pm Arriba Juntos Office, 1850 Mission Street (Se habla español.), 4th Monday of the month, 10:30am-12:30pm Public Defender’s Office, 555 Seventh Street, Every Tuesday, 9am-11am Ella Hill Hutch Community Center, 1050 McAllister Street (between Webster & Buchanan in Fillmore), 1st Thursday of the Month, 9am-11am The Village Community Center, 1099 Sunnydale Avenue, 4th Wednesday of the Month, 9am-11am Southeast Community Center, 1800 Oakdale Avenue, 3rd Thursday of the Month, 9am-11am EXPUNGEMENT: We can have your conviction dismissed so that when you apply for most jobs, you can legally say that you were not convicted of that crime. To qualify, the following must be true: (1) you are not on probation or parole; (2) you are not currently charged with a crime;(3) you are not currently serving a sentence and; (4) your conviction is from San Francisco City and County. A simple expungement takes approximately 3-4 months. SEAL AND DESTROY AN ARREST RECORD: To qualify, the following must be true: (1) you were arrested in San Francisco City and County and not convicted; (2) you are factually innocent of the charges for which you were arrested in other words no reasonable cause exists to believe that you committed the offense for which you were arrested; and (3) you are seeking this within 2 years from the date of your arrest unless you have a valid reason for not requesting to seal the arrest record earlier and the prosecutor is not prejudiced by the delay in time. If all three of the above conditions are true, we may be able to seal and destroy the record of your arrest. A simple sealing and destroying of an arrest record takes approximately 10 months to a year. CERTIFICATE OF REHABILITATION: Convictions that resulted in a state prison sentence cannot be expunged. However, you may qualify for a certificate of rehabilitation. Once a certificate of rehabilitation is granted it is forwarded to the Governor's Office as an application for a pardon. To qualify, the following must be true: (1) you live in San Francisco City and County; and (2) it has been minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 10 years since your discharge from incarceration or release on parole or probation. A simple certificate of rehabilitation takes approximately 10 months to a year. END PROBATION: If you are still on probation, we may be able to terminate probation and then ask for an expungement. You must have a very good reason for the early termination, such as having a job offer that depends on your not being on probation or the early termination was agreed upon at the time of your conviction. Additionally, you must have successfully fulfilled all conditions of probation before requesting early termination. A simple early termination of probation takes approximately 3-4 months. REDUCE A FELONY TO MISDEMEANOR: If you have a felony conviction and are still on probation, we can reduce the felony to a misdemeanor if there was an agreement at the time of your conviction. A simple felony reduction takes approximately 2-3 months. Category:Criminal Justice System Category:Government Agencies Category:Legal Agencies / Advocacy